Aiming drill target and system



Oct. 16, 1951 J. G. WINTER AIMING DRILL TARGET AND SYSTEM 4 Sheets-Sheet1 Filed Sept. 26, 1949 ATTORNE1 Oct. 16, 1951 J. G. WINTER 2,571,511

AIMING DRILL TARGET AND SYSTEM Filed Sept. 26, 1949 4 Sheets-Sheet 2ATTORNEYS Oct. 16, 1951 wlNTER AIMING DRILL TARGET AND SYSTEM 4Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Sept. 26. 1949 INVENTOR ATTORN E Y5 Oct. 16, 19513. W E 2,571,511

AIMING DRILL TARGET AND SYSTEM Filed Sept. 26, 1949 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 j;7 a o: fi 5,2

yg If 6% 4% INVENTOR ATTORNEY5 Patented Oct. 16, 1951 UNITED STATESPATENT OFFICE 8 Claims.

This invention relates to an aiming drill target and system, and has forits primary object the provision of a device for use in the instructionof soldiers, and others, in the aiming of a rifle or other firearm.

In teaching a recruit to use firearms, he first receives instruction insighting, and later he receives a distinctly different form ofinstruction intended to improve his ability to aim the rifle. Thisinvention provides a device especially adapted for use in instructingone to aim a rifle. The distinction between instruction in sighting andinstruction in aiming will now be more fully explained to furtherillustrate the objects of this invention.

In my United States Letters Patent 1,507,223 granted September 2, 1924,as well as in the booklet The Winter Sighting Drill Target, U. S. MarineCorps, 1942 published by the United States Government Printing Office in1942, there is fully shown and described a system of instructiondesigned to aid in sighting. Under resent practice a recruit is firstgiven instruction in sighting as outlined in said publications, and thenhe proceeds to the target range to test his marksmanship with ballammunition. His accuracy in aiming is indicated by hits on a distanttarget. This training on the target range is necessarily limited sincethe number of shots is small, the conditions of light and weather arevariable, and there is no way of determining the causes of errors thesoldier makes. As a result of these circumstances, the firing of ballammunition is far from a perfect test of aiming but is little more thana test of the previous instruction in sighting.

The present invention provides for instruction and practice in aiming,which eliminates range conditions and which at the same time permitspractice in aiming in barracks or on the drill field. At present thereis no satisfactory machine for providing adequate instruction in aiming.The present invention simulates target range practice. The soldier mayassume a natural firin position, either sitting or kneeling, and mayhold the rifle at his shoulder. He is able to move the rifle freely inan angular direction to bring the line of sight in coincidence with theline of aim and he may then pull the trigger and have his line of sightaccurately recorded on a miniature target nearby. When a soldier hasused the present invention until he can make good scores, he is thenprepared to proceed to the target range to fire ball ammunition.

In my new aiming drill target and system therefor, hereinafter claimed,there is a stationary upright standard with a cradle for holding therifle, a miniature target, a marker, a transmission device between therifle and the marker for varying the position of the latter relative theminiature target according to variations in the angular position of therifle, and a latch for releasing the marker for movement toward theminiature target when the trigger is depressed. As a result the markeralways moves parallel to the axis of the rifle and indicates on theminiature target any errors in aiming existing when the trigger isdepressed. Full details of the invention are set forth in the followingdescription, and the several combinations of elements that I believeconstitute my invention are set forth in the appended claims.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a plan view of my invention.

Figure 1a, is a face view of the miniature target employed in the deviceshown in Figure 1.

Figure 1b is a face view of the distant target that may be employed inconnection with Figure 1.

Figure 2 is a side view of the device of Figure 1 but with the lowerportion of the device cut away.

Figure 3 is a sectional view of Figure 2, taken along line 3-3.

Figure 4 is a view similar to Figure 3 but in which the rifle has beenremoved from the cradle and moved laterally.

Figure 5 is a perspective view of certain details of the new device.

Figure 6 is a detail View of certain apparatus associated with thetrigger of the rifle.

Figure '7 is a plan view of the latch, marking device and miniaturetarget.

Figure 8 is a sectional view of the apparatus shown in Figure 7, takenalong line 88 of Figure '7.

Figure 9 is a detail view of the crank used in the trigger line.

Figure 10 is a plan View of the device showing the positions of theparts when the rifle has been given angular movement about pivot 48.

Figure 10A shows certain parts of Figure 10 when the rifle has beengiven angular motion about a vertical axis passing through 42.

Figure 11 is a sectional view along line ll--ll of Figure 1 and showsthe relative position of the marker, miniature target, and upright, whenthe rifle has been given clockwise rotation about a horizontal axis.

Figure 12 is a sectional view taken along line l2l2 of Figure 11.

Referring now to Figures 1 and 1b there is a target 28 which may be, forexample, fifty yards remote from the rifle 2|. A cradle 22 is adapted tohold the rifle 2|, but the rifle may be removed from the cradle andmoved independently thereof, if desired. The cradle 22 is supported byupright 23 which has a hinge 24, 25, 28, connecting the two together.The plate 24 of the hinge is rigidly fastened to upright 23 and isconnected by pivot 25 to the plate 25 which is rigidly fastened to theunderside of cradle 22. To prevent the cradle from rocking about thehinge during certain training operations another hinge 21, 28, 29 may beemployed. It has a plate 21 fastened to upright 23, and a pivot-28joining plate 21 to plate 29. The latter plate has a hole therein whichmay be inserted abouta vertical bolt 39 extending down from cradle .22,and the plate 29 may be secured to the cradle by wing nut 3|. The brokenlines show plate "29 when it is not in use.

Upright 23 is rigidly secured .to a base :member .24 by angle iron 25.As shown in Figure 3, another upright 32 is pivoted to :base member :24by hinge 33, 34, 35. Plate .33 of the latter hinge is rigidly fastenedto "base member 24 and is pivoted atj34 to plate 35 which is rigidlyfastened to upright 32. To avoid any play in the lastnamed hinge thatwould enable upright .32 to rotate in the plane of the paper of Figure11, two hinges .33, 134, '35. are employed somewhat spaced. Both ofthese two hinges however rotate about the same axis.

Referring now to Figures 1, 2, 3, 4 and it is noted that a large heavyhinge 36, 3.1, 38, has a plate 86 rigidly attached to the rifle by bands39. These bands are adapted to hold the plate 38 in fixed positionrelative to the rifle 2], but it is understood. that the bands 39 may beremoved from the rifle to thus separate the latter from my new device asa whole. Substantially horizontal arms 40 and 4| are pivoted to hingeplate 38 by pivots 42 and 43 respectively, the pivots having axessubstantially vertical as shown in Figure 10. Hence arms 48 and 4| canrespectively rotate about vertical pivots when the angular position ofthe rifle is varied about a vertical axis. Therefore as shown in theplan view of Fig. A when the rifle is rotated clockwise about an axispassing through 42 the arms 48 and 4| do not materially change theirangular positions but move lengthwise with arm 4| moving toward the topof the drawing and thereby rotating the marking device as willhereinafter appear. As shown in Fig. 12, and others, the arm 40 isconnected to upright 32 by a universal joint. This joint comprises ahinge plate 44 arranged for rotation about a horizontal pivot 45, thehinge plate 44 being pivotally connected to hinge plate 46 by horizontalhinge pivot 41. The hinge plate 48 is in turn pivotally connected o arm40 by substantially vertical pivot 48.

A substantially horizontal arm 49 is pivoted about pivot 48 and istherefore free to rotate in a normally substantially horizontal planerelative to arm 40 and hinge plate 46. The arm 4| is connected to arm 49solely by a vertical pivot 58 which appears in several figures.

Referring now to Figure 5 it is clear that since arms 48 and 4| are offixed length that angleiron arm 49 will always be parallel to the axisof hinge 35, 31, 38 and will therefore always be parallel to the axis ofrifle 2|. Hence as the rifle is moved clockwise, arm 4| moves pivot 58away from cradle 22 and rotates arm 49 about pivot 48.

The marking device includes any marking instrumentality 5| having a finepoint, for example a pencil, mounted on a movable plate 52, the latterplate having a ledge 53 on the right end thereof. Latch member 54normally engages ledge 53 and retains it away from the miniature target55.

Extending through the horizontal base of arm 49 is a vertical bolt 84which has the same diameter as the hole in arm 49 through which itextends. Therefore bolt 84 can not move with respect to arm 49. However,the marking instrumentality 5| is carried by angle-iron 52 and thismember :has a slot 56 therein of greater width than the diameter of bolt84 but of less width than the head of bolt 84. Therefore, the member 52may slide longitudinally with respect to bolt 84 for a limited distance.There is another vertical bolt 51 which may be moved relative to both ofmembers 48 and 52. Members 49 and 52 have slots 58 and 59 respectivelyof the same length and width and the vertical bolt '5] passes throughboth of these slots and keeps the slot 59 always above all or a part ofslot 58. In the position shown, wherein the marking device is in latchedposition, the slot 59 extends to the right side of bolt 51' and slot 58extends to the left of bolt 51 (see Figure 8). Moreover, slot 55 extendsto the right of bolt 84. A heavy spring 68 has opposite ends thereoffastened to bolts 84 and 51 and this spring biases these bolts towardeach other under strong force.

When the latch 54 releases ledge 53, as when latch 54 is rotatedcounterclockwise (see Fig. 7) the spring 69 pulls bolt 51 toward bolt 84and bolt 5? therefore moves member 52 toward the left. This forcecontinues until bolt 51 engages the left edge of slot 58 (see Fig. 8)after which time the spring 68 exerts no more force on member 52.However, since spring 68 is a strong one the member 52 moves verysmartly and with considerable momentum, and therefore it continues tomove after bolt 51 strikes the left edge of slot 58. As will hereafterappear, spring 6| opposes the forward motion of member 52, but spring BIis too weak to prevent the momentum of member 52 from carrying thatmember to the left until marking instrumentality 5| strikes target 55.The dimensions and adjustments are such that marking instrumentality 5|is spaced from the target a short distance when bolt 51 has been movedto its extreme left position by spring 88. Hence, the momentum of member52 is necessary in order for any mark to be made on the target 55. Weakspring 6| is anchored at its left end to member 52 and at its right endto bolt 84. Its right end is therefore effectively anchored to member49. Weak spring 6| is biased to contract itself and to therefore pullthe marking instrumentality 5| away from target 55. After the momentumof member 52, during forward motion, has been expended, the weak spring6| will pull the marker 5| away from the target 55 and thus avoidfurther marking in event the rifle is moved after the marker 5| engagesthe target 55. In view of the foregoing explanation, it is clear thatwhen the latch 54 is operated, the marker 5| merely strikes the target55 and is thereafter retracted from the target 55.

The latch 54 is controlled by the trigger 62 or rifle 2| as nowdescribed in detail. A wire line 53 is connected at one end to thetrigger 62 and at the other end to crank arm 64. Arm 64 is pivoted at 65to an arm 66 (see Fig. 9) and the arms 66 and 61 rotate about pivot 42(see Figs. 2, 5 and 6). A Wire line 68 extends from arm 61 to latchmember 54. The line 68 connects to arm 61 by a hook 69 enabling thedevice to be quickly disassembled. Interposed in wire line 68 is atrunbuckle HI to control proper tension in the line. It is obvious thatwhen trigger 62 is depressed that the lines 63 and 68 operate to releasethe latch 54 and to allow spring 69 to move the marker 5| as aforesaid.

The pivot 65 is not essential and members 64 and 66 may be in one rigidpiece, but pivot 65 is desirable when due to preference for compactnessthe member 66 is close to the lower portion of rifle 2!. When the hingeplate 36 is short, rotation of the rifle about its axis may cause member64 to rub the rifle and interfere with trigger action. However, withpivot 65 the arm 64 is never forced against the rifle body withsufiicient force to interfere with trigger motion. The hinge 65 is maderather stiff so it will not move unnecessarily.

When the recruit believes his aim is perfect, he pulls trigger 62 whichmoves the latch 54 against the bias of its biasing spring 13 andreleases marking instrumentality 5| so it strikes chart 55 momentarilyas aforesaid.

It is noted that for accurate results under all conditions, the axis ofthe marker 5! as well as the point at which member'49 is pivoted tomember 40, should be as close to in alignment with the axis of the pivot41 of hinge 44, 45, 41 as possible.

I claim to have invented:

1. An aiming drill device comprising, in combination, a cradle forholding a rifle in a horizontal position spaced above the ground, saidcradle 1 being adapted to hold the rifle in a predeter- The chart 55 iscarried by an arm I and arm Operation Prior to the training operation,the target 2|! is positioned accurately in the line of aim of the rifle2| when the latter is resting in the cradle. The recruit now positionshimself, either kneeling or sitting, behind the rifle 2|. The hingemember 29 is disconnected from the cradle 22 and the recruit aims at thetarget either with or without raising the rifle 2| from cradle 22.Assume now that during this aiming process, the recruit inclines thefront end of the rifle upwardly, he rotates arm 48 about pivot 45 andthereby causes the marker 5| to be rotated upwardly at the same angle asthe rifle 2| rotated. Hence, if the trigger 62 is depressed while therifle 2| is thus inclined, the marker 5| will strike miniature target 55above its normal center. The reverse occurs throughout if the front endof the rifle 2| is inclined downwardly.

When the rifle 2| is removed from cradle 22 and moved to one side of thecradle, the action is shown in Figure 4. The upright member 32 rotatesand carries the target 55, and the marker 5|, with it. Hence, assumingthat the target is at a great distance no error is involved if therecruit fails to hold the rifle 2| directly over the cradle 22.

When the rifle 2| is removed from the cradle 22 and is rotated about avertical axis the arm 49 follows these angular movements perfectly andtherefore moves the marker 5| relative to the chart horizontally.

If the recruit moves the rifle 2| at an angle having both horizontal andvertical components, the marker 5| will follow that deflection perfectlyand will produce a mark exactly according to the direction of the lineof sight of the rifle 2|.

mined position relative to the cradle when the rifle is being held bythe cradle and being further adapted to permit the rifle to be freelyremoved therefrom, said cradle including a base for supporting the sameon the ground, an upright member pivoted at said base for rotation aboutan axis that is parallel to the axis of the rifle, said upright memberbeing spaced to one side of the rifle, a substantially horizontalelongated member, a hinge having a pivot substantially parallel to theaxis of the rifle and pivotally connecting the horizontal member to theupright member, another hinge having its pivot substantially parallel tothe axis of the rifle and pivotally connecting the horizontal member tothe rifle, a chart comprising a miniature target, a supporting membermounted at one end on said upright and carrying said chart at its otherend, said supporting member positioning the center of said chartperpendicular to and in substantial alignment with the axis of thefirst-named hinge, a second substantially horizontal elongated member insubstantial alignment with the axis of the pivot of the firstnamedhinge, said second horizontal member being pivoted at a first endthereof to the first horizontal member and extending from the first onetoward said chart, a third horizontal member extending parallel to thefirst one and pivoted to the second one, said third horizontal memberbeing connected to the same part of the second hinge to which the firstone is connected, a marking device mounted on the second horizontalmember and extending beyond the free end thereof, a vertical pin closelyadjacent the end of the second horizontal member and fixed thereto, saidmarking device defining an elongated opening therein about said pin andextending parallel to the second horizontal member, said marking deviceand said second horizontal member defining complementary elongatedsimilar openings therethrough, a second vertical pin passing throughsaid complementary openings and freely movable in the elongatedopenings, said complementary openings having substantially similarrelative positions with respect to said second pin when the first pin isin the center of said first-named elongated opening, a spring connectedat opposite ends thereof to said pins respectively and biasing themtoward each other, a second spring exerting less bias than the first oneand connected at opposite ends to the marking device and to thefirst-named pin, a latch engaging the marking device and holding themarking device in a position as far as it can be moved away from thechart, a control line for releasing the latch and extending therefrom ina direction substantially parallel to the firstnamed horizontal member,a member pivotally 7 mounted "on 'the second hinge, said last na'm'edmember being pivoted about a vertical axis and having one end fastenedto said control line, and :a second control line extending from theother end of the last-named member and adapted to .be connected to thetrigger of the rifle.

2-. The device defined in claim 1 in which said cradle is pivoted forrotation relative said base about a horizontal axis that isperpendicular to the axis of the rifle and which is also adjacent to therifle, and means operable to secure the cradle in a fixed positionrelative to the base.

3. An aiming drill device comprising, in combination, a base adapted tobe placed on the ground, a rifle cradle carried above the base forsupporting a rifle in a horizontal position, an upright member pivotedat a first end to the base about a horizontal axis parallel to that ofthe rifle, a chart carried by the second end of said upright member, theplane of said chart being perpendicular to the axis of the rifle andsaid chart being located outside of the line of aim, means for movingthe second end of the upright member in a direction perpendicular to theaxis of the rifle to extents equal to movements of the rifle in suchdirections, a marking member normally extending along a horizontal axis,intersecting said chart, means for moving the axis of the marking memberto maintain the same parallel to the axis of the rifle, said markingmember including a marking element, means biasing the marking elementtoward the chart, and means cooperating with the trigger of the rifleand operable to lock the marking element away from the chart until thetrigger is pressed and including means responsive to trigger pres sureto release the marking element for motion toward the chart.

4. The device defined by claim 3 including in addition means for movingthe marking element L away from the chart immediately following motionthereof toward the chart.

5. An aiming drill device comprising, in combination, a distant target,a rifle having sights to enable one to aim at said distant target, achart adjacent the rifle and in a plane perpendicular to the axis of therifle, means for moving the chart horizontally when the axis of therifle is displaced horizontally, a marking device normally out ofengagement with the chart, means biasing the marking device toward thechart, a latch restraining motion of the marking device toward thechart, means for moving the marking device relative to the chart inaccordance with angular changes of the axis of the rifle in a horizontalplane, and means operated by the trigger of the rifle for releasing saidlatch.

6. Ah aiming drill device comprising, in 'com- 'bination, a rifle, achart adjacent the rifle and outside of the line of aim thereof, anelongated marking device having a marking element at one end thereofsupported independently of the rifle, means mounting the other end ofthe marking device for universal movement, means for moving the markingdevice about its mounting means by angles proportional to and indirections complementary to movements of the rifle, means carrying bothsaid chart and said mounting means to move both of them horizontally inaccordance with horizontal displacements of the axis of the rifle, andmeans operated by the trigger of the rifle for moving the markingelement into contact with the chart.

7. The device of claim 6 in which the lastnamed means includes meansoperable in response to pressure on the trigger to cause the markingelement to strike the chart for a short time only and thereupon beimmediately withdrawn from contact with the chart.

8. An aiming drill device for use with a rifle comprising, incombination, a base adapted to be placed on the ground, an uprightmember pivoted at a first end to said base about a horizontal axis, achart carried by the second end of said upright member, elongated meanspivoted to said second end about an axis parallel to said first-namedaxis and extending substantially horizontal, the elongated means havinga free end adapted to be connected to a rifle whose axis is horizontal,a marking element carried by said second end, means biasing the markingelement toward the chart, means connected to the rifle for moving themarking element relative to the chart to positions indicative of theangular position of the rifle, and means cooperating with the trigger ofthe rifle and operable to lock the marking element away from the chartuntil the trigger is pressed and including means responsive to triggerpressure to release the marking element for motion toward the chart.

JOHN G. WINTER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the flle ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,038,728 Cummings Sept. 1'7,1912 1,269,374 Brodstrom June 11, 1918 2,350,750 Gerstenberger June 6,1944

